If Rhodes and Jason Collins spend the next full year unemployed, that's basically a gigantic **** YOU from general managers. DURRRRR WE CAN'T HAVE OUR BOYS DISTRACTED BY THE IDEA OF YOU SUCKING A DICK DURRRRRR. It would send a clear signal to closeted players to keep their mouths shut. And if Rhodes can be shunned, how many other players have been shunned for other various, imbecilic reasons?

Kerry Rhodes is still a very good safety, but if a team does not want to sign him then they won't. It is as simple as that, agree with it or disagree with it but that's just the way it is. I know he is better than a lot of the guys the Pats have been throwing out there.

Jason Collins sucks at basketball, let's not let the fact that he likes the buttseks cloud that. That is the primary reason why he is not in the NBA.

I copied that part of the quote for the GM comment about Rhodes -_- I couldn't care less about Collins although I think he would probably have had a shot if he wasn't like Tebow/Kluwe i.e. their performance wouldn't be worth the media attention garnered from signing them.

Kerry Rhodes has no business being unsigned considering he is a very good safety in a league severely lacking quality safeties. Pretty much every team in the league could use Kerry Rhodes in their secondary and his 840k minimum salary isn't the hold-up.

I'll never forget, before this Kerry Rhodes thing became a big deal I was listening to a BS report with Bill Simmons and the NFL writer for Grantland Bill Barnwell, and Simmons asked Barnwell which veteran safety the Patriots should target or something like who the best veteran safety on the market was. And Barnwell replied with Kerry Rhodes saying he thought he had a better 2012 season than similar players who were available, Ed Reed and Adrian Wilson. I know it's only one writer's opinion but it's pretty shocking that a player who represents the best value at his position is still unsigned.

ESPN also featured a piece from Pro Football Focus where they ranked him as a top five safety and the only safety ranked higher available last offseason was Reshad Jones.

Yeah, the Jason Collins story was one thing because he contacted the journalist and said he was ready to announce it. Rhodes may not be comfortable publicly declaring his sexuality like Collin's did. It's not a journalists place to speak up for someone if they don't want to speak about something.

Especially when said journalist opens himself up to a defamation lawsuit. Or possibly getting terminated.

There was an ESPN college gameday employee who can't find work right now bc of his stance against homosexuality. So any stance on it is a slippery slope, and at the end of the day, these guys have families to feed like the rest of us, they're not going to put their career on the line for this story.

My point is that a story could be done without stating that Rhodes is homosexual. Plenty of pieces were written about Mike Piazza, etc. This could be a piece simply highlighting the fact that a certain player "unnamed" even, is likely being discriminated simply because there are QUESTIONS about his sexuality, let alone him being open.

I don't necessarily think teams are hesitant to sign him because HE would be a distraction to the team. I think teams are hesitant to sign him because they know the media would be a huge distraction if he ever officially came out.

There was a rumor in 2007 that when the Giants drafted Hakeem Nicks, they initially were going to trade their pick for Braylon Edwards. The deal was all set in place, it was about to go down, then the Giants players apparently told Reese that they don't feel comfortable with Braylon in the locker room bc hes *** and that they only thought he wanted to come to NY bc of the *** nightclubs in the area.

So then the deal went off the table and we drafted Nicks instead.

If that is true, then I can definitely see it being an issue in the lockerroom as well.

I don't necessarily think teams are hesitant to sign him because HE would be a distraction to the team. I think teams are hesitant to sign him because they know the media would be a huge distraction if he ever officially came out.

The 49ers are willing to employ a known rapist and a known homophobe. Who gives a **** if the media whines for a few weeks because you have a *** guy around.

It's totally not my place to tell someone how to handle their sexuality in the public eye, but I think he would have a lot easier of a time finding work if he came out and owned it. If he were to come out and embrace it, it would force the media's hand a bit more. It's a sad state of affairs that he needs to bully the NFL into letting him work...but that's the way to do it if he wants to continue his career.

...then again, if I was in Rhodes position, I'm not sure I would even want to play for a league that needs to be pressured into not being completely ass backwards.

The 49ers are willing to employ a known rapist and a known homophobe. Who gives a **** if the media whines for a few weeks because you have a *** guy around.

Maybe I'm just being naive, but this is why I think there's more to it than just Rhodes himself being ***. Even people to the very far right wouldn't think that being a rapist or murderer is more acceptable than being ***. The 49ers don't have hundreds of people from the media flying in from all over the country to ask every player on their team what it's like to share a locker room with a rapist.